Dec 28, 2021 12:25 PM [edited]
10 years ago
I chopped off my hair
an act of mourning
an act of resiliency!
an act of mourning...
a past self that never was
never knew warmth or comfort
a self that needs time to heal
questions of
where do I fit in this patriarchal regime?
knowing that I don't have a place within this culture
while having no knowledge of my "own"
building one from scratch
this is my home
the most hurtful words she ever said to me were while explaining a concept, from if I remember correctly,
the writings of Gloria Anzaldúa comparing my experience to growing up white
that's not me
that's not something that I know
I don't speak of my indignantly
my family's roots into the land
folks easily see it in my practice
it's everywhere
it's how I learned my connections to the land
vital to my core
not directly from my parents
aunts
uncles
grandma
great grandmother
they were taught to feel shame around their roots
but from elders who chose me as their family and took me in as one of their own
i was taught the importance of chosen family young.
in 2021
i started growing my hair out again
it’s time to heal from this place